These Musicians Are Raising Funds for PPE With A Vinyl of Unreleased Tracks

With the government coming up short in protecting its key workers amid the Covid-19 crisis, ‘Songs For The National Health Service’ aims to help fund the urgent need for PPE

WORDSHannah Sargeant

We’ve seen no end of reporting on the lack of Personal Protective Equipment [PPE] for our NHS while Covid-19 spreads across the UK, as many medical professionals working directly on the frontline to fight the pandemic have been left insufficiently protected from the virus. If official reports weren’t driving home the message enough, it’s hard to miss posts from individuals working for the NHS popping up all across social media, expressing their frustration with lack of basic protective clothing and how they are risking their own lives and those they are in contact with every time they show up for a shift.

We don’t believe the NHS should be treated like a charity, but it’s difficult to watch as frontline medical professionals put their lives at risk during this crisis, especially due to a lack of the right equipment.

As a response to these shortcomings, a new vinyl, Songs For The National Health Service, is to be released in the coming months with all profits going towards the purchase and distribution of reusable, specialised PPE Respirators for hospitals that are yet to be provided with them. As a one-off collection of demos, covers remixes and live versions, the vinyl includes donated unreleased tracks from artists Wolf Alice, Nilüfer Yanya, The Big Moon, Pixx, Jessica Winter, Foals, The Vaccines, Sports Team, Baxter Dury, The Wombats, The Magic Gang, Spector, Swim Deep, The Orielles, Oscar Lang and Alfie Templeman.

Many have argued on the issue of having to fundraise for the NHS, and that it’s government responsibility to ensure that the health service is adequately financed when citizens already pay National Insurance taxes designed to fund it. Yet with the deep healthcare budget cuts that have been imposed since 2015, many feel like the urgency of the situation has required taking matters into their own hands. Organisers behind Songs For The National Health Service commented that “we don’t believe the NHS should be treated like a charity, but it’s difficult to watch as frontline medical professionals put their lives at risk during this crisis, especially due to a lack of the right equipment.”